Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar - A Behind the Scenes Look: Prima's Official Insider's Guide is a coffee table book written by David Hodgson and published by Prima Games in November 2004, in a hardback and paperback cover, comprising a collection of images chronicling the development of Half-Life, Team Fortress, Day of Defeat, Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Source and Half-Life 2. Text includes notes on game design, development, cut concepts, information relating to voice actors and other areas. Numerous interviews of the Valve staff members also fill the book. The book has been discontinued and has thus become a collectible item,Official page on the Steam Store although it can still be found on websites such as Amazon.com. However, rumors about a new, expanded edition being published in the wake of Episode Three's release have surfaced. Contents Foreword by Gabe Newell In this foreword written August 11, 2004, Valve's managing director Gabe Newell makes some acknowledgments, talks about team work, the importance of the gaming community and wonders if Half-Life 2 will be successful. Investigation 1: Anomalous Materials Chronicles how it all started, the evolution of Half-Life, from Prospero to Quiver, containing much characters, creatures, locations and weapons concept art, as well as screenshots of cut content. Half-Life: A Nonstandard Specimen Depicts the development of the Half-Life enemies, cut and kept, and how the final game stemmed from Prospero and Quiver. This section includes concept art by Greg Coomer, Chuck Jones, Ted Backman and Dhabih Eng. Extra Life: The Mod Movement Expands on information related to the mod community that developed in the game's wake and the subsequent retail release of iconic mods such as Counter-Strike,Team Fortress and Day of Defeat. This section includes concept art by Kristen Perry and Moby Francke. Gallery File:Gordon-rubble.jpg File:Aleph2.jpg File:Icky concept.jpg File:Panther eye concept.jpg File:Chumtoad concept.jpg File:Kingpin2.jpg File:Barnacle concept.jpg File:On a rail concept.jpg File:Gonarch concept.jpg File:Garg concepts.jpg File:Alien organic assault rifle.jpg File:Alien slave pit.jpg File:Charger concept.jpg File:Gordon tentacles.jpg File:Doctor model views.jpg File:Cia female soldier.jpg File:Nihilanth concept.jpg File:Scientist render.jpg File:Cia butcher.jpg File:Alien slave2.jpg File:Quiver Land Squid.jpg File:Hivehand con.jpg File:Early scientist concept.jpg File:Gargantua versions.jpg File:Bmrf tanks.jpg File:Human Sargeant.jpg File:Mr friendly.jpg File:Aleph1.jpg File:Barney early.jpg File:Alien slaves concept.jpg File:Houndeye concept.jpg File:Zombie white bg.jpg File:Bmrf launch key room.jpg File:Alien grunt3.jpg File:Kingpin.jpg File:Flocking floater.jpg File:Unindentified alien.jpg File:Art-gordon-greybg.jpg File:Gordon concept.jpg File:Navy seal2.jpg File:Headcrabs hecu.jpg File:Squeak grenade.jpg File:Fast walker.jpg File:Surface tension scripted.jpg File:Heavy concept chuck.jpg File:Bmrf tentacle silo.jpg File:Gordon model 2.jpg Investigation 2: Unexpected Interference Covers the long development of Half-Life 2, also containing much characters, creatures, locations and weapons concept art, as well as screenshots of cut content. It also covers character creation and design. Half-Life 2: Creature Discomforts Covers the Half-Life 2 creatures, how they evolved and why some were cut. This section includes concept art by Ted Backman, Dhabih Eng, Tri Nguyen and Viktor Antonov. Half-Life 2: Digital Drama Covers character creation and design, acting, motion capture, and face posing, as well as some information about the characters' real life counterparts. It also includes story excerpts by Marc Laidlaw given to the team for design inspiration. This section includes concept art by Ted Backman, Dhabih Eng, Anry and Moby Francke. Half-Life 2: Welcome to City 17 Covers Half-Life 2's setting evolution, and how it started from a globe-spanning vision to a tighter, circular path that gave birth to City 17 and its surroundings. It again includes story excerpts by Marc Laidlaw. This section includes concept art by Viktor Antonov, Eric Kirchmer, Tri Nguyen, Horia Dociu, Randy Lundeen, Damarcus Holbrook and Jeff Ballinger. Half-Life 2: Final Sequence A more technical section, it covers polishing and adding detail, mapping, prop creation, NPC behavior, general gameplay, etc. Images included in this section are mostly screenshots from the retail Half-Life 2. Gallery File:APC concept.jpg File:Airex reactor inside1.jpg File:Alyx gordon basic weapons.jpg File:Borealis tanks.jpg File:Teleport study5.jpg File:Razor train1.jpg File:Wasteland Airex skybox.jpg File:Shore people.jpg File:Breen ref.jpg File:Captain-vance1.jpg File:Citadel interior.jpg File:City wide.jpg File:Trainstation2.jpg File:City 17 yellow poster.jpg File:Cocombine soldier bed.jpg File:Trenchcoat combine.jpg File:Strider early5.jpg File:Combine Synth Elite Soldier2.jpg File:Combine door citizen.jpg File:Condog.jpg File:Concept eli gordon alyx skitch.jpg File:Consul office.jpg File:Citizen blue legs concept.jpg File:Consul1.jpg File:Eli beta model.jpg File:Sheldon2.jpg File:Soldier12.jpg File:Consul greater good.jpg File:Gordonalyx2.jpg File:Stalker-concept.jpg File:Conzombie.jpg File:Old teleport oicw2.jpg File:Depot cellblock2.jpg File:Depot down2.jpg File:G-Man head.jpg File:E3 terminal.jpg File:Eli prototype physics.jpg File:Gordon antlions striders coast.jpg File:HL2 E3 Hydra Tunnels.jpg File:Hl2 original journey.jpg File:Jamil1.jpg File:Hydra concept.jpg File:Jet ski.jpg File:Kids working.jpg File:Library.jpg File:Metrocop blue eyes.jpg File:Van ref.jpg File:Gasmask citizen.jpg File:Stenographers chasm.jpg File:Kleiners teleport2.jpg File:Crossbow concept art2.jpg Notes and references See also *''Half-Life 2'' Beta *[[Development of Half-Life 2|Development of Half-Life 2]] External links *Official page on the Steam Store *Prima Games profile *Amazon.com profile Category:Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar Category:Half-Life Beta Category:Half-Life Category:Half-Life 2 Beta Category:Half-Life 2 Category:Real world